Returns
by d-kronk
Summary: Decmeber 26 and the mall. Definitely not where Gil wants to be. Fourth and final part in my 2003 holiday series. Follows Hostage Crisis, The Christmas Party and Christmas Eve Festivities. GC


Title: Returns

Author: Angie

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimers: CSI Crime Scene Investigation does not belong to me, they are the property of CBS, Alliance Atlantis, Jerry Bruckheimer and the wonderful actors who portray them.

Author's Notes: Welcome to December 26 of the Graveshift December

Challenge. This is the fourth and final part of my holiday series, following "Hostage

Crisis," "The Christmas Party," and "Christmas Eve Festivities." This fic is the length I had actually envisioned each part of this series being, so it is much shorted then the other three parts. I can not thank Marianne enough for taking time out of her busy schedule right before Christmas to beta this last part for me. Thank you so much, you're a life saver and a fic saver.

Dedication: This fic is dedicated to everyone who takes the time to review. Whenever I get stuck on something I'm writing and start thinking I should just stop I go back and read some of the reviews I've received… and it never fails to get me back in the mood to write. So thanks to all that have reviewed my work, you'll never know how much it means to me.

Spoilers: Nothing really

Distribution: The GraveshiftCSI Homepage, all others please ask.

XOXOXO

"Do we have to go today, Cath? I'm sure this little trip can wait a bit. You know those stores are going to be packed today."

Catherine turned and looked at the man sitting in the passenger seat. "It can't wait, Gil. This is the only day we have off together for two weeks. Besides you dragged me shopping the day before Christmas, so you can return the favor now."

"Why don't we take this stuff back the next day we're off together. We wont have to worry about any lines by then."

"We also wont be able to return anything either. We don't have the receipts, Sweetie. Besides it wont be that bad, at least we get to spend the day together." Catherine pulled into the Fashion mall, taking advantage of the Valet parking service they had used two days prior. "I also want to get this ring resized so I don't lose it."

The two left the car and returned to the mall, Gil leading the way to the jewelry store where he had purchased the ring and necklace.

"Mr. Grissom!" The man behind the counter called out when he saw his favorite customer enter the store. "Please tell me this is the lovely lady who's won your heart."

Gil nodded and led Catherine across the store towards the man. "Catherine, Mr. Johnson. Mr. Johnson, this is Catherine."

"She's just as beautiful as you've said." He reached for Catherine's hand, looking at the sapphire and diamond ring on her hand before looking at the matching necklace. "Exquisite. You certainly bring out the beauty in the jewelry."

Catherine smiled at the compliments, feeling the slight blush rise to her cheeks. "Thank you, Mr. Johnson. We were wondering if…"

"If I could resize that ring for you? Of course. I knew when Mr. Grissom bought the ring that he would be in here the next today, with you, to get it resized. What woman could possibly get a ring like that from a man as wonderful as Mr. Grissom and not want to show it off to the world? I can have it done for you by closing, or tomorrow at the latest."

"Tomorrow will be fine." Catherine told him. "I don't want to rush you, we can just pick it up before work tomorrow night." Catherine looked down at her right hand, reluctant to remove the ring. In just a day she had become accustomed to it's place on her finger. Taking a deep breath, she slowly took off the ring and put t back in the box before handing it to Mr. Johnson.

"I promise I'll take excellent care of your ring, Catherine. From looking at your hand earlier, I'm guessing your ring size is six. Right?" At the surprised look on Catherine's face, he continued. "I've owned this store for a long time, you learn to see people's ring sizes pretty fast. I assume you and Mr. Grissom will be here around his usual time tomorrow night then?"

Gil told him they would, and quickly escorted Catherine out of the store before she could ask any more questions.

Catherine stopped once they had left the store, waiting for Gil to turn to her. "What did he mean by your usual time?"

"You remember how I told you I hadn't had time to do any Christmas shopping? Well that wasn't exactly true. I had been searching for the perfect gift for you for a few months. Mr. Johnson's store was one of the first places I looked, and I was back about once a week since then until I found that necklace. Then, when I was picking up the locket for Lindsey I found the ring and knew it would be a perfect match with the necklace."

"So you put off all your shopping until you found this necklace?"

"Not quite everything. I had picked up some other things for you, and, well, a lot of things for Lindsey."

"Suddenly I'm not wanting to take these gifts back." Catherine leaned forward, wrapping her hands around Gil's waist and sliding them into his back pockets. "Why don't we just go back home. Lindsey's gone…"

"You know how much I want to say yes to that. But I also know if I do, you are going to be upset later when we have to go back out to return those gifts. We don't have many things to take back, maybe we'll be lucky and wont get stuck in lines. We can just get everything taken back and then leave."

"And miss the sales?"

Gil shook his head, his amusement clearly evident in his expression. "Just remember everything we buy today, we are going to have to move once we find our house."

"Good point." Catherine pulled back from Gil and they continued their journey through the mall to their various destinations.

XOXOXO

Hours later they had finally finished their returning spree, and were back in the car on their way home. Catherine had given up her keys and had let Gil take his turn behind the wheel.

"Gil, do you mind if we go back to your place?"

"Not at all." Gil stopped at the red light and turned to her. "Any particular reason why?"

Catherine shrugged, "Not really. It's just that your place is usually more peaceful then mine. We can fully relax there. Besides I love watching movies on your TV."

"It is not my TV you love, it's the location."

Catherine grinned, not denying a word he had said.

XOXOXO

Gil pulled Catherine closer to him, enjoying the way she curled herself around his body as she lay next to him. He let his mind wander from the movie Catherine had chosen and glanced down to watch Catherine as she watched the movie.

"Do you not like the movie?"

"It's fine. I just like watching you more. You have this wonderful tendency to distract me. And dressed like that… well I guess the more appropriate word would be undressed like that, you really distract me."

Catherine looked down at the shirt she had slid on earlier, the shirt Gil had worn earlier that day. "It shouldn't distract you too much, it's your shirt. It's not like you haven't seen it before. I'm the one who should be distracted. You laying next to me in nothing but your boxers…" Catherine couldn't help her eyes from wandering, the movie long forgotten.

Gil pulled her closer to him, her body resting fully on his now as they lay face to face. "I love you." He lifted his head slightly, softly kissing her lips. "Have you thought about where you want to move, or when?"

"Some. I'm not picky about where we move, as long as it's in one of the safer neighborhoods. What kind of ideas have you had?"

"Not much more then you, we've been a bit busy the last few days. We can find a realtor tomorrow if you want." His hands started running up and down Catherine's back, softly massaging the tenseness out of her muscles.

"What do we want?"

"Four bedrooms."

"Four?" Catherine questioned, her eyebrows slightly raised.

"Ours, Lindsey's, a guest room, maybe a nursery… just in case."

"A nursery? You've never mentioned wanting a baby before. When did you start thinking about it?"

Gil was silent for a moment, trying to figure out the best way to word his feelings. "I've been thinking for a while about our future, so naturally the thought of children came to my mind."

"Gil, you do know it's pretty unlikely, right? I'm in my forties now, the chances of me getting pregnant… well it's not good odds. I mean there are other ways we could try, medications, but some of them are kind of dangerous."

"I know it's unlikely. I'm not saying I want to try, but the possibility is always there. I just didn't want to find ourselves needing to move again in a year."

"So four bedrooms it is." Catherine laid her head down on Gil's bare chest, listening to the sound of his heartbeat. "Three bathrooms. One in our bedroom, one for Lindsey and another on the first floor."

"A large kitchen and room for a den or library."

"We definitely need a finished basement. You need somewhere to put all your little friends."

"You're going to let me keep them in the house? I thought for sure they would be locked up in a garage."

Catherine raised her head to look Gil in the face. "They can stay in the house, just don't let them escape, or if they do… don't tell me."

Neither said anything for a few moments, as they thought about their conversation. "Are you sure you're all right with us moving in together?" Gil finally asked.

"Of course I am! I know it isn't exactly what we had talked about in the past, but circumstances have changed. We adjusted our plans a bit, nothing wrong with that. Are you all right with us moving in together?"

"Absolutely."

They drifted into silence again. Hands softly caressing, while their eyes roamed. Gil wrapped his hands tighter around Catherine and turned to his side, bringing Catherine with him.

"I hope we can find a house soon." Gil whispered, the repressed yawn disguising his voice. "Because I really don't want to spend another day here alone, and I really don't want to move my stuff to your place and then move again after that."

"We can just take your essentials for now." Catherine wrapped herself tighter around Gil. "Maybe we should get dressed. Or at least think about it. Lindsey is going to be calling soon. We still need to make something for dinner, unless you want leftovers."

"Leftovers are fine. And you're right, we probably should get dressed, or I'm going to fall asleep. Want to help me pack a few things before we go. I need a few more clothes over there, people are going to start talking when I start continuously wearing the same three shirts to work."

Catherine didn't say anything, she just released her grip from Gil and rolled out of bed, walking over to his dresser and grabbing a pair of sweatpants from the drawer. She slid the sweatpants on, then took hold of loose ends on the shirt and tied it into a knot. "Are you getting dressed? Or are you just enjoying the show?"

"Hey, that was one of my favorite shows… I'll enjoy that every time I get the opportunity to watch." Gil smiled as he left the bed, grabbing the pants he had been wearing earlier before looking for a new shirt.

Once dressed, he went to the closet in the hallway to grab the two suitcases he had. They quickly packed most of his clothing into the suitcases and zipped them closed.

"Do you need to grab anything else?"

"No… at least nothing that is coming to mind right now. I can come back if I need to, but I definitely have enough clothes." Gil picked up the two suitcases with one hand and reached for Catherine. "Let's get going. It's time to start the rest of our lives."


End file.
